NGEN-R Hitting Critical Milestones Over Next Few Months

By DANIEL P. TAYLOR, Seapower Special Correspondent

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Navy plans to take a big step forward with the Next Generation Enterprise Network-Recompete project soon, with requests for proposals (RFPs) expected to be released in the coming months.

Ruth Youngs Lew, program executive officer for Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS), told attendees at the Sea-Air-Space Exposition April 10 that RFPs for the end-user hardware and integration pieces of NGEN-R should be forthcoming soon.

In addition, NGEN deals with two other “pillars,” as Lew described them: productivity services and cloud contracting, or how PEO EIS will leverage the cloud for hosting in the future. Lew said that there is an RFP for the cloud portion on the street right now.

NGEN-R encompasses not just the sustainment of the networks but also its modernization, she said, which underscores how important the effort is.

Capt. Don Harder, deputy PEO EIS, said the biggest challenge so far has been “ensuring the right language in the RFP.

“It’s really focusing on network modernization as opposed to maybe how it’s been done in the past,” Harder said.